First Published - April 12, 2016 (By Ewan - Scotland Account Manager)
April 21st sees the third edition of the Scottish Aeropress Championships taking place – for the first time – in Edinburgh, at Summerhall.
The competition will take the format of 36 competitors, each brewing the same coffee in no more than ten minutes, using the Aerobie Aeropress. The winning cup will be chosen on its ability to make the judges “want to finish the whole cup”. This is a slightly more light-hearted competition and is often beer-fuelled and fun (I participated last year after a few pints and about 30 minutes of practice. Needless to say – I didn’t proceed to the later stages). The winner of each national championship goes on to represent their country at the World Aeropress Championship which coincides with the World Barista and World Brewers Cup Championships. This year the world final will be held in Dublin but the finals have been held in Rimini, Seattle, Melbourne, Portland and other far-flung venues – so it’s a nice trip for the winner!
The World Aeropress Championship has developed something of a reputation for each participating country supplying a high-design poster celebrating each location and it’s respective Aeropress Championship. Posters of note can be found via a quick Google search and for Scotland this year is no exception. The 2016 architecture-themed poster has been designed by Emiliya Yordanova – head barista at Brew Lab Coffee in Edinburgh and an up-and-coming illustrator. I definitely think it’s a contender for best yet…
The coffee this year will be an exclusive lot supplied by Steampunk Coffee – a North Berwick-based coffee roaster. They will be keeping the exact information on the coffee under wraps until the last moment, so I can’t say any more than that!
Union Hand-Roasted Coffee are sponsoring the grinders that will be used by the competitors onstage and I will be one of the judges alongside John Thompson of Coffee Nexus and Jason Scott of Bramble Bars (a high-end cocktail bar chain based in Edinburgh). Each Aeropress championship judging panel normally contains two coffee professionals and one local food or drink professional (a chef, bartender, sommelier, etc.) – this is in order to promote a slightly more inclusive coffee event, as well as encouraging non-coffee professionals to get involved.
Brew Lab Coffee will be the main hosts and organisers of the event, with a showcase brew bar from participating speciality coffee shops across Scotland, a coffee beer collaboration with local brewer Barney’s and a variety of food trucks
Coffee enthusiasts in Scotland can sign up here
Good luck!
